Evergreen Heart

Chapter 34
Magic Duel.

Dead silence reigned in the castle throne room. Never in recorded history had anyone, pony or otherwise, ever challenged the princess to a duel of magic. All eyes were glued to the scene.

Celestia stared at Trixie. Her expression unreadable.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” she finally asked, sounding more amused than anything else. She even cracked a smile.

“As serious as an Ursa Minor attack.” Trixie snapped back.

Celestia’s amused smile vanished. “Fine, then I will end this farce right here and now.”

As her horn erupted with power, I quickly stepped between Celestia and Trixie. Shielding her with my body. Turns out I needn’t have bothered.

The doors to the throne room slammed open with such force they cracked the walls with their impact, and a single word blasted our eardrums with the full power of the Royal Canterlot Voice: “ENOUGH!”

All eyes turned to the one who had spoken. Princess Luna made her entrance.

“Stay thy hoof sister.” She spoke loudly for all to hear as she stomped her way over to the throne. “We do not appreciate being kept in the dark about this situation. Why were we not informed?”

“My dear sister, this is not something you need to worry about. I am just dealing with two obstinate...”

“WE will decide what IS and ISN’T worth our time, sister!” Luna spoke furiously, her tone allowing no argument, “Now, what exactly is going on here?”

“Just a silly little foal declaring a duel against me in accordance with ancient customs. I was just about to show her the error of her ways.”

“And you were just going to fight her here, in the throne room, this very instant?”

“Best not to waste anymore time on this nonsense.”

“We realise it has been more than a thousand years since anypony declared such a challenge, but that is no excuse for ignoring the rules, my sister! First the two challengers will declare what demands are to be met, should they be victorious. And perhaps in the interest of keeping the combat fair, you should choose a champion to fight in your stead. While we are certain miss Lulamoon would put up a brave fight, she is hardly a match for an Alicorn.”

If looks could kill, then everyone in the throne room would have been incinerated on the spot. I've never seen Celestia this mad. The glare she shot us held such fury it made me flinch. She seemed to catch herself though. Her face becoming a blank mask of eerie calm.

“Very well. What are your victory conditions?”

Trixie swallowed before she stepped in front of me to address Celestia.

“If Trixie wins this challenge, she demands that all existing charges against her stallion be dropped, the banishment be lifted, and that we shall be free from further scrutiny unless there is overwhelming evidence of wrongdoings on our part. Furthermore Trixie demands you send a detachment of guards and magic experts to the Everfree to confirm our claim.”

“Agreed. But if you lose, he shall be banished to Tartarus until such a time that I’m convinced he no longer poses a danger to this land and its inhabitants. And you, Trixie Lulamoon, will be stripped of your noble status.”

“Trixie are you sure about this?” I whispered to her. “You don't have to do this.”

She looked at me, and her eyes shone brightly with determination and love. “Yes, I do. You protected Trixie in the past. This time, it's my turn.”

If I had a heart it would have burst from the overwhelming sense of love and pride. “Alright sweety. I trust you. Just, be carefull, alright? I don’t want you getting hurt over this nonsense.”

She gave me a nudge with her nose, then turned back to face the princesses. “Trixie accepts these terms!”

“The demands have been stated, and accepted! Name your champion, Sister.” said Luna.

“Our chosen for this duel shall be our beloved protégé, Twilight Sparkle, to champion the interests of the crown!”

“What!” Twilight said in near panic. She'd spent the entire time since Trixie made her challenge desperately trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. I’m surprised she hasn’t passed out from the effort.

She wasn’t the only one of the six. Rarity too, looked like she was ready to have a fit, and Dash looked ready to pick a fight with us. The others were staring slack jawed. Perhaps most disconcerting was that Pinkie’s hair had lost some of its poofyness as she looked anxiously back and forth between us, Twilight and Celestia.

“Do you accept this responsibility, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna demanded.

“I uhm.... yes?”

“Excellent. Then we shall proceed to the guard training grounds, where this duel shall take place!” Luna declared loudly.

Slowly the throne room emptied out as the throng of ponies proceeded down to the training grounds. There were excited and agitated murmurs among the nobles. Though mostly agitated. I watched as the rest of the element bearers escorted Twilight. Their faces were a mix of shock and uncertainty. I hung back slightly so I could get closer to Luna. I wasn’t having much luck, until she chose to approach me instead.

“Aeron, we apologize for thy reception. For what it is worth, it is good to see thee again. Wish it were under more pleasant circumstances.”

After our less than warm reception, her attitude was very welcome. Still I had a question I needed to ask. “It’s good to see you too, princess Luna. Pardon my bluntness, but what the hell is wrong with your sister today? She’s acting downright daft.”

“We… I, do not know. She has been a bit prickly ever since you sent agent Sweetie Drops back empty hooved. And recently she has been under a lot of stress, with the upcoming wedding of Captain Armor and her niece, Princess Cadance. And just a few days ago, a threat was issued against Canterlot. We do not know by whom or why.”

She let out a bone tired sigh, and now that I looked closer, she appeared a bit bedraggled. Like she hadn’t slept properly in days.

“Our intelligence network has been run ragged, trying to find the source of the threat. So far with no luck. It has everypony on edge, including myself. I know it does not excuse sisters behavior, but I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive her, once we clear up this unfortunate situation.”

Stress? Really? That sounded like a flimsy excuse. But then, I’ve seen enough people go through burnouts and whatnot as a result of stress. And Celestia has been running the show solo for so long, maybe she just can’t handle the idea of taking a step back and letting Luna shoulder some of the burden. A thousand years of running things ‘just so’ would leave its mark on a person I imagine. Still, with the way she was acting right now, a royal bollocking wouldn't be misplaced.

I really hope Luna is right, and that we can resolve this thing amicably once this duel nonsense is over and everyone's tempers have cooled. Especially with the wedding this close. Cadance would need to be watched.

“I guess we will see. Provided I don’t end up in Tartarus in a few minutes.”

“If miss Lulamoon loses this duel, I will convince sister to transfer you to the palace dungeons instead. At least they will be familiar to thee.”

“I’ll expect a mint on my pillow.” I quipped, drawing a chuckle from her.

“This hardly seems like the time to crack jokes.” Shining Armor butted in. Having drawn closer to us as we walked.

“On the contrary. This whole thing has my nerves so on edge I’m about to have a breakdown. So it’s the perfect time to crack jokes.”

Shining shook his head. “You are unbelievable.”

“Yes I know.” I grinned before turning serious, “All jokes aside though, Princess, when this is over, it is imperative that I speak with you in private.”

Luna gave me a sharp nod.

***

The procession to the dueling ground was a quiet affair. At least it was for Twilight Sparkle. She had read about this old tradition between the noble houses. Even her own family had partaken in them many, many generations ago, the stories having been passed down as a staple of pride and accomplishment in her family. A constant reminder that they came from a line of powerful unicorns, even though the house of Sparkle was no longer counted among the nobility.
.
Still everything about this made her head swim. She should feel honored that the Princess would choose her. Many a noble would sell their firstborn foal for the chance to represent the crown as their chosen Champion. She should be using this time to form strategies for the coming fight, moves to make in each event, each scenario. But try as she might she couldn’t get over the nagging feeling; that this was somehow very wrong.

She had seen Trixie’s magic potential. She had an impressive repertoire of diverse spells, but most were merely cantrips. Trixie’s only real strength were her illusion based spells, and from what she knew, those lacked substantial power. Regardless of time spent abroad, she was confident in her ability to beat the stage magician.

Twilight raised her eyes to the head of the procession. Not to far ahead was Aeron and her soon to be opponent. The pair walked alongside Princess Luna, who chatted quietly with them. On each side was a pair of golden armored guards. Guards she had always seen as a symbol of safety. Her own beloved brother was one of those guards, and now she saw them pointing their ire, and likewise weapons, at somepony she called friend. Somepony who she took into her home, who she trusted to look after someone she considered a little brother.

Looking further ahead she saw the form of none other than her mentor. She didn’t look back, but her stride was purposeful, and deliberate. The words from the meeting not minutes ago echoed back to her in clarity. She said he was a threat, dangerous, so much so that the very prison mentioned in curse was to be used. And she was to be the one to put him there, should she win.

From behind her, Rainbow Dash glared at the duo ahead. They were quite the pair, the trickster and the monster. A real piece of work the both of them, pretending to be their friends, then bam, turns out they were a bunch of traitors.

She finally couldn’t keep it quiet anymore. “Can you believe them?” She spit between gritted teeth. “Sauntering back in here where they aren’t wanted.”

“Rainbow, that is a little harsh don’t you think?” Rarity muttered from next to her.

“Oh come on!” The speedster exclaimed glaring at the fashionista. “We all knew he was dangerous, we saw what he did first hoof. The Princess saw it too, she even gave him a way out. But here he is. strutting in here like he owns the place.” She said bitterly.

“Dash, ah think yer forgettin’ some other points.” Applejack countered.

“What, you soft on him ‘because he did all your chores?”

“Watch. It. Rainbow Dash.” Applejack practically seethed under the implication the Pegasus was making. After a tense moment and some calming breaths the orange mare regained her composure. “Ahm referrin’ to a certain hoof he had in helping us take down Discord.”

The tense atmosphere held, making Rainbow more careful with her words, but far from willing to back down.

“He only helped us to save his own skin….bark…..whatever! Besides, AJ, are your seriously siding with him over the Princess!?” She glared at the farmer.

Applejack hardened her gaze at the Pegasus, “Alls ahm sayin’ is, we’re in the dark on a lot of things all the sudden.” She adjusted her hat and looked to the front of the line. Her eyes falling on Trixie and Aeron.

“When those two up and left, nopony knew what happened. Now all the sudden we’re hearing he was flat out banished? Why? What happened?”

“Applejack is right.” Rarity said stepping up. “Mister Aeron was permitted to live with us in Ponyville for several weeks, with Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo right in town. The Princesses deemed him safe enough to be around all of our families, now all of the sudden we are talking Tartarus? When did one plus one suddenly equal eleven, darling? There are a great number of clues missing here.”

“This isn’t one of your stupid mystery novels, Rarity. The Princess says he’s a threat and I know where my loyalties lie.”

“Such a dangerous thing when loyalty outweighs reason.” Rarity huffed at Dash’s tone.

Rainbow responded with a derisive snort.

“It’s been months and still the forest is so quiet,” A small voice spoke from behind a veil of pink hair, “the birds are still scared to go back there.”

Through her mane Fluttershy looked at the ‘stallion’ ahead of them. “If he attacked a city, then….”

Fluttershy’s voice gave out, her will to express her anger gone, but her point made clear; He was dangerous.

“What about you Pinkie?” Rainbow craned her neck back to see the usual bouncy pink pony uncharacteristically lagging behind.

Her poofy mane had lost a lot of its bounce and was hanging limply in places. She looked to her friends, and scanned them each for a bit before muttering. “There are three things I avoid talking about in public; Religion, Politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”

With that, Pinkie fell silent.

“You all saw those scars on Trixie,” Applejack said, seizing the reigns of the conversation once more, “Can any of y’all say you wouldn’t act that way if somepony you cared about was treated like that? Ah pity the low down snake who would do that to any of mah kin.”

“So what you’re saying darling is that an ‘eye for an eye’ is acceptable?” Rarity asked.

“What ah’m sayin’, Rarity, is that when it comes to family or loved ones, things ain’t always so cut and dry.”

***

We exited the palace and entered the training area. It was basically a large stretch of open ground, surrounded by a running track, where the guard practiced combat drills, as well as parade maneuvers. The barracks were of to one side. And there were targets set up on the far side of the field for spell and archery practice.

A couple of unicorns began summoning bleachers for the spectators, and everypony shuffled into a seat. During our trek through the castle, word had spread, and more and more ponies were trickling in, as did every guard not on duty. Pegasi brought in clouds to sit upon to watch the action. Twilight and her friends stood off to one side, and Trixie and I walked over to join them. As we approached, I noticed they looked rather conflicted. With Dash in particular giving us a withering glare.

“Sorry you got dragged into this, Twilight.” I said once we were within earshot. “That was never the plan.”

“I’m sorry too.” She said, then looked at Trixie, “You understand I can’t go easy on you right? I have to perform at my best, it’s my duty.”

“Trixie would be insulted if you gave less than your best, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Just make sure you fight fair,” Dash blurted out, poking Trixie in the chest, “No dirty tricks, you hear!”

Trixie slapped the hoof away. “Back off! This has nothing to do with you.”

“You wanna go a round!?” Dash growled, getting ready to pounce before AJ yanked her back by the tail.

“Lands sake, Rainbow, knock it off.” she grumbled through her teeth.

Thankfully, before things could escalate, Luna’s royal canterlot voice drew our attention as she addressed those gathered.

“Since this is a duel between a noble house and the crown, neither my sister nor myself are allowed to act in the role of referee, as it would be a conflict of interest. Therefore, one will be selected by lottery. However, to assure fairness, each side is allowed to nominate a secondant to observe and ensure fair judgement.”

She then turned to us.

“Who do the champions nominate as their secondant.”

“House Lulamoon nominates Prince Blueblood.” Trixie stated. The noise among the crowd grew.

Nice move Trixie. Because Blueblood is associated with the crown he can’t be discredited with claims of acting in our favor. And it also makes a strong statement that we trust him, and by extend the princesses to play fair. Very shrewd.

Blueblood exited the bleachers to stand by our side. We didn’t get a chance for proper greetings though as Luna turned to Twilight to hear her nominee.

“I nominate Captain Shining Armor as my secondant.”

As Shiny made his way over, Luna then called for volunteers with combat experience to put their names in a small basket she produced. About a dozen ponies wrote down their names on a scrap of parchment and put them in. Luna then shuffled them around for a minute before drawing out a piece of parchment.

“Soarin!” she called out.

That seemed like a strange choice to me, since this is a magic duel I’d have expected a unicorn to be the referee. But apparently that’s not a requirement. The easygoing wonderbolt lieutenant flew over to stand with Blue and Shining, our panel of referees thus complete.

“In times of old, duels such as this were fought to the death!” Luna addressed the crowd. “But…since we are not barbarians, this duel shall be fought till the other party either surrenders, or is incapable of continuing the fight.”

“Go get her love.” I whispered in Trixie’s ear before giving her a gentle push forward.

Twilight and Trixie took up positions on opposite sides of the field.

“Combatants, art thou ready?” Luna asked. Both mares nodded.

Luna raised a hoof, ”Then… FIGHT!” She shouted, slamming her hoof down.

***

“FIGHT!” Princess Luna shouted.

“Sorry, Trixie, but I’d rather get this over with quickly.” Twilight thought as she unleashed a beam of concussive force from her horn.

The beam of magenta energy zipped through the open space between them. Trixie let out an audible ‘eep’ of surprise at the sudden attack, and barely managed to raise a weak barrier spell. Twilight's beam hammered into it like a wrecking ball, shattering the barrier and throwing Trixie backwards. She managed to land on her hooves, but it wasn’t a graceful landing by any stretch of the word.

Twilight didn’t wait. She wanted this whole ordeal to be over. She fired a number of beams from her horn. Trixie didn’t bother throwing up another shield. She didn't have the raw strength required to hold it. So she simply dodged out of the way of Twilight’s attacks, clumsily. Some of Twilight’s shots came awfully close to hitting her. After a particularly close call singed her mane, Trixie switched tactics.

“SMOKESCREEN GO!” She shouted, throwing down a hoof-full of smoke pellets. Blanketing her side of the field in thick blue, obscuring clouds.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Rainbow Dash yelled from the sidelines.

“It’s not,” said Shining Armor, “The rules don’t forbid the use of tools or other items, even weapons. So long as you have them on you when you enter the arena. Now if someone were to toss her a sword right now, that would definitely be against the rules.”

“Still feels like cheating.” Dash grumbled.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, alert for even the slightest hint of movement. “You can’t hide in there forever, Trixie!” She shouted.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn’t dream of hiding from her adoring audience.” Trixie’s voice shouted back, “She simply needed a moment to set the stage for the first trick of her performance. I call this one, Smoke and Mirrors!”

The clouds of smoke parted, only to reveal a dozen Trixies.

“Can you guess which one is the real one?” One of the Trixies said.

Twilight zapped the one who had spoken with a magical beam. The struck Trixie exploded in a shower of glittering sparks.

“Oopsie, wrong one. Time to pay the penalty.”

“What penalty?” Twilight asked, before her body suddenly convulsed with a painful electric shock that made her cry out.

“Trixie should have warned you. If you hit one of the illusions, the energy present in the illusion will feedback into you. As you just experienced, it is quite painful.”

Twilight grit her teeth. “That’s not possible. That’s not how illusions work.”

“Maybe not your everyday illusions. But these illusions were custom made by the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Foul! I call foul!” Dash shouted from the sidelines.

“I admit, this does present quite the conundrum for Twilight.” Said Rarity. “I don’t see how she’s going to solve it. And if she makes a mistake, she will take another nasty jolt.”

“I wouldn’t count Twily out just yet. She’s got this.” Said Shining Armor.

Twilight stared at the field full of Trixie’s, watchful for even the slightest move.

“I must commend you, Trixie. This was a clever ploy, forcing me to basically gamble which one is the real you. And I can’t afford to pick the wrong one, so I can’t attack, but neither can you without giving yourself away. It’s quite the impasse you created.”

“Why thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” The Trixies said in unison.

“Or it would be,” Said Twilight, “Were it not that I already have a way to deal with this problem.”

“Told ya.” Shining said with a smirk.

Twilight’s horn lit up with a yellow glow. A small sphere forming at the tip.

“The solution is quite straightforward. I just need to hit you all at once. Morpheus Magic Missile is just the right spell for the job.”

The sphere at the tip of her horn burst into a dozen streaks of light that shot towards their targets. Before they could utter a word, every Trixie was zapped by a yellow stream of energy.

“Gotcha.” Twilight cried triumphantly, only for her face to take on a confused look when all the trixies vanished as one, leaving the field empty.

“But how…”

“Alakazam!”

Twilight turned around upon hearing the unfamiliar word coming from behind her, only to take a concussive bolt to the face. The impact snapped her head back and sent her crashing to the ground with a pained yelp as Trixie’s invisibility spell dropped to reveal her standing less than two feet behind her.

“Why you rotten dirty...” Rainbow Dash growled. She was about to launch herself at Trixie to deliver a pummeling when Applejack grabbed her by the tail and knocked her to the ground.

“Quit trying to interfere, Dash. Do ya want Twilight to lose? Cause if you jump into that fight, that's exactly what’ll happen!” AJ growled through a mouthful of tail hair.

“But..”

“But nothin’, you stay there or so help me ah will sit on ya till this is over.”

Blueblood glanced at Shining and Soarin. It was up to them to make a ruling. While it wasn’t the most honourable tactic, It wasn’t exactly illegal. The duels of the old ponies were quite brutal by the standards of modern equestria. He could see Shining Armors gaze harden as the blow connected, but the captain held his tongue. He could not play favorites and he knew it. Blue could only try and imagine the conflict the stallion must feel, not having any siblings of his own.

Twilight shakily got back up. Her ears were ringing and she was seeing double from the point blank impact. She immediately raised a barrier shaped like a multi faceted gemstone around her.

“Shining Quill's Fortress.” Said Blueblood. “That’s quite the powerful defense spell. Did you teach her that one, guard captain?”

Shining Armor shook his head. “She must've gotten that one from one of her spellbooks.”

“Come on out of there Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie said, “Just give up and this will be done.”

“I can’t give up. The princess depends on me.” Twilight replied, shaking her head to try and clear it.

“Then Trixie will blast you out.” She said before unleashing several magic beams.

Each of them struck true, but splashed harmlessly against the gem shaped shell. Next Trixie unleashed several firework spells. They exploded violently as they struck the barrier, whipping up clouds of dust and smoke. But when the air cleared, Twilight’s protective spell remained unblemished. Trixie was breathing hard. Those attacks had taken quite a bit of juice. Seeing the protective shell unscathed made her cry out.

“Oh come oooon!”

“Looks like she can’t touch Twilight now.” Rarity said.

“Yeah, but Twi can’t attack her neither. Not without droppin’ that fancy spell.”

“Why don’t you give up, Trixie. You can’t touch me now. I’m sure the princess will be reasonable if you apologize sincerely.”

“There is no way, NO WAY, that Trixie is surrendering today, Twilight. If I can’t use magic to get to you, then I’ll blast you out with physical force.” She said as she whipped off her hat and reached inside, retrieving the long barreled blunderbuss the Minotaur assassin had used.

Several onlookers reacted with alarm as she aimed the foreign weapon at Twilight. The rifle discharged with a thunderous bang when she pulled the trigger. The lead cannonball Struck Twilight’s shield like a gong before falling to the grass, robbed of all its kinetic energy. The barrier shattered in slow motion, cracks spider webbing outwards from the point of impact until the entire thing collapsed.

From the far side of the field, Celestia let out a snort of both anger and alarm. That devious attack was barely within the legal rules of the duel. She vowed, then and there, not to underestimate the azure magician. She had clearly picked up some of Aerons worst traits. No sensible pony would use such hazardous tactics.

Twilights face was a mask of shock. She did not expect her most powerful defensive spell to fail. With a grunt of determination she shook it off, and with a zap of her horn, she transfigured the weapon into a quill and inkwell. With a glare, Trixie transfigured the quill and inkwell into a large rock, hurling it at Twilight with her telekinesis. Twilight in turn Transfigured the rock into a pillow that harmlessly struck her chest.

“Are you just about finished?” Twilight deadpanned as she gave Trixie a level stare. “If you’re reduced to flinging rocks we may as well end this now.”

“The great and Powerful Trixie merely needed a moment to catch her breath.” She shot back as she was enveloped by a puff of smoke.

“Again with the disappearing act?” Twilight growled in frustration.

But Trixie wasn’t actually gone this time. When the smoke cleared she was still standing there. Except that her cape and wizards hat were replaced by a form fitting tuxedo vest and top hat.

“It’s called a wardrobe change.” She said with a huff. “Now for Trixie’s next trick.”

“Oh no, we’re not doing this again.” Twilight shouted, firing a beam. Only for it to strike a full length mirror that suddenly appeared in front of Trixie. Sending the blast right back at her. She ducked under her reflected attack with a yelp.

“Uhm, how did she do that?” AJ asked.

“I don’t rightly know,” Said Blueblood, “It could have been some kind of defensive spell she prepared before-hoof. But I’ve never heard of one that summons a mirror.”

Trixie stepped out from behind said mirror, her expression smug. “You should know better than to interrupt a magicians show, Twilight Sparkle. Now, pick a card!”

With a flourish, Trixie produced a fan of cards from her sleeve, and then threw them towards Twilight. The moment they struck the ground, they lit up, and from each card emerged an armed figure. A pony dressed like a king or queen card, or a jack card. Each brandishing a sword in their mouth.

“More illusions?” Said AJ.

“I’ve never seen Illusions like this before.” Soarin replied.

“What gives? I thought Trixie was just a two bit stage magician. How is she suddenly this good?” Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration.

“Clearly she has worked hard on her skills since last you saw her.” Shining Armor replied, his face tense as he watched the illusions like a hawk.

“I’m not afraid of a few illusions, Trixie. They can’t hurt me.”

“You thought that about Trixie’s first illusions too, Twilight Sparkle. Have you already forgotten your lesson? Observe.”

With a flourish, Trixie conjured a small wooden log, and casually chucked it at one of the illusions. Swift as the wind, the Queen of hearts turned around, sword slashing through the air in a series of graceful strokes. The little log fell to the ground in three pieces.

“Best be on your guard, because here they come!”

As one, the card ponies rushed her. Twilight shot a beam at the lead one, but her attack passed through it as if through mist. With a yelp she ducked under the sword swing that came her way and scrambled backwards.

“Poor Twilight, you appear to be in a bind.” Trixie taunted as magic ropes shot forth from her sleeves, Attempting to ensnare Twilight.

With no room to manoeuvre due to the cards attacking her from all sides, Twilight became easily ensnared by the magic rope. It was only through a quick teleport that she managed to avoid getting hogtied and skewered. She appeared further down the field, panting for breath.

Another card pony, a jack of diamonds, rushed her. Its sword grazed her cheek, leaving a tiny cut. Twilight yelped in pain, before obliterating the illusion with an angry blast of magic. The card it had come from caught fire and burned up.

“How can them blades cut her if they’re just illusions?” AJ asked out loud.

“Its psychosomatic.” Soarin answered.

“Say what now?”

“A normal illusion is just an image of bent light. Strong casters can pour enough power into the image to make them solid. This is what we call a hard light illusion. It’s how you can create fake walls and such. But even though these are solid, and you can touch and push them, they can't really be used to attack. The moment their attacks make contact with you they would pass through, because your mind instinctively knows they are just illusions.”

“However, there have been a select few mages throughout history who were capable of producing illusions that were capable of causing injury. Somehow these mages were so skilled, that their illusions could somehow trick the mind and body into believing the damage they inflicted was real.”

“But, this is ‘Trixie’ we’re talking about! Surely you aren’t suggesting she of all ponies is skilled enough to…” Dash all but shouted.

“I don’t know her well enough to judge her capability. All I know is what I’m seeing right now.” Soarin interrupted.

Meanwhile, Trixie was sweating. She tried to keep her breathing calm and even, to feign confidence, but the strain of maintaining the combat illusions was starting to mount. Even using the runic cards as power boosters, the drain on her reserves was considerable. It would take many more training sessions before she could master the technique. And even more training to build up the magical stamina required to maintain it for longer periods of time. But she had to keep the pressure on. If she gave Twilight room to breathe and think, she would lose. Twilight had far more raw power, and even greater stamina compared to her. Even now the lavender unicorn was making short work of her illusionary fighters.

Twilight dodged and weaved, firing beam after beam from her horn. Already she had obliterated three of the twelve cards. She was panting hard, but she couldn’t stop, she had to keep moving. She rolled under a sword swing and retaliated with an arcane blast that sent another two illusions flying, before bursting into sparkles and vanishing. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder at Princess Celestia. Her mentor stood stoically. Watching the duel with argus eyes. Seeing her mentors eyes upon her boosted Twilights determination. She would not fail her, she would win, and then convince the princess to find a better solution. Surely she would listen to her.

With renewed vigor, Twilight fired a blue beam into the air. The beam split and rained down in a shower of tiny falling stars that peppered her opponents.

Princess Luna let out a surprised gasp. “Astral Stardust.”

“Indeed,” said Celestia, “The very spell you invented, dear sister.”

“But how did Twilight Sparkle learn of it? I thought it lost forever.”

“Why, from me of course. The spell matrix you wrote down was nearly destroyed during our battle over castle Everfree. But brilliant little Twilight managed to reconstruct the spell after I showed her the partially burned scroll.”

“When was this?”

“Several years ago, when she was still studying back in Canterlot. Showing her that spell was part of my plan to prepare her for her confrontation with you.”

“I see.” Luna said, before falling silent and turning her eyes back to the combatants.

The stardust spell had been enough to destroy all the remaining illusions. Both combatants stood facing each other. Both were breathing hard. Their breath steaming in the air.

“Ready… to give up yet, Trixie?” Twilight panted.

“Not yet,” Trixie shot back, breathing equally hard. “The third act is about to start.”

***

To say I felt tense as I watched the two of them fight would be an understatement. I had to keep myself from jumping in the way of an attack more than once. I also had to keep myself from walking over and smacking Rainbow Dash on the back of her head a few times for running her mouth. But my main focus was on the fight.

This was not at all like their battle in ‘magic duel’. The spells involved here had the potential to do real damage.

Though Trixie had initially learned these illusions so they could become part of her show, they are essentially the same spells used by the battle mages of ancient Neighpon. Mashika had several books about them in her eccentric collection. Including one with a full spell index. I swear that old mare could give Twilight's love for knowledge a run for its money.

I can’t deny that I also felt a hint of pride, watching Trixie fight. She’s come a long way in a short amount of time. She doesn’t have Twilight’s raw talent, or her focus. But she’s nothing if not tenacious when properly motivated. But the fact she was fighting for me left a sour aftertaste.

And no, that’s not some misplaced sense of male pride. I just don’t want her getting hurt on my behalf. She means too much to me.

I glanced over to where Celestia and Luna stood. Luna’s expression was one of… professional interest? She looked like a coach assessing a students performance. She fought side by side with me and Trixie in the past, so perhaps she’s curious about her improvements.

Celestia watched the battle like a hawk. Her face an inscrutable mask of indifference, save for her eyes. Those were not the eyes of a happy person. I suspect she expected Twilight to defeat Trixie handily and without a fuss. Well tough break, sunbutt, my brilliant girlfriend has a few tricks up her sleeve. You better believe.

***

With a puff of smoke, Trixie’s wardrobe changed back to her usual attire of star spangled cloak and hat.

“It’s time to finish this, Twilight Sparkle. Behold, the Great and Powerful Trixie’s, Marvelous Menagerie!”

In one swift motion, Trixie yanked her hat off her head and threw it high in the air.

“Abracadabra!” She shouted, waving her forelegs at her hat as it floated down to the ground.

The moment the hat touched the ground it suddenly started to rise again. It quickly became apparent that there was something under there. The hat kept rising, only to reveal a massive lion. But it didn’t stop there. The hat kept rising more, until it revealed a tiger, standing on the lions back. And still it kept going, to reveal one more cat. A cheetah, standing on top of the tiger. The tower of big cats looked towards Twilight, licked their chops, and let out hungry roars.

Panicked shouts erupted from the bleachers as the big cats jumped down off of each other and stalked towards Twilight. She prepared a spell but had to abort midway when the lion pounced her. She barely rolled out of the way, the claws raking through her tail hairs, ripping out a patch. At the sight of Twilight’s tail getting mangled, Rarity nearly fainted, before flying into a rage.

“Twilight, buck those ugly cats into next week! Show them nopony messes with a ladies mane or tail!” she shouted by way of encouragement.

Both Rainbow dash and Applejack face hooved.

“Is that really the issue here, Rarity.” AJ deadpanned with a glare, eliciting a sheepish blush from the fashionista.

Twilight was ducking and weaving for her life, as the big cats swiped at her from all sides. Her breath was ragged, and her muscles ached. She wasn’t used to this much physical activity. Disaster then struck as she caught her hoof on an uneven piece of ground, twisted her leg the wrong way, and went down hard, hitting the ground with an ‘ooof’ as the air was blasted from her lungs.

She rolled over to try and get her hooves back under her, only for the lion to appear on top of her. She let out a yelp as the beasts massive paw swooped down to end her, only for it to harmlessly pass through her.

“They are illusions too.” she thought, and quickly got back to her hooves. ”But they are no longer solid.”

She risked a glance at Trixie. Who was breathing harder than ever. And that's when Twilight realised she must no longer have the strength to make the illusions solid. This was her chance.

With a quick burst of power she shattered the lion illusion, before Trixie had any chance to reinforce it. The lion dissolved into shimmers and sparks of blue and white. Vanishing into the aether, and Twilight picked herself up.

“Its over, Trixie. You barely have enough magic left to maintain these Illusions. Just stand down and we’ll find a way to work this out.”

“I will not let you win. You will not take him from me.” She shouted back.

“Trixie, I know you care about him, but the Princess isn’t wrong about the risks. He needs to be held in check.”

“He is in check, Twilight. I trust him with my life, and more. All you ponies see is the bad. But he has done lots of good too.”

“That may be, but we all have bad days. If Aeron suddenly loses control that’s a lot of ponies he will endanger.”

“That won’t happen. He’s cured.”

“How can we be sure of that? We only have your word for it.”

“How can you be sure that your little assistant won’t go on another rampage? We only have your word on that. How many ponies did Spike endanger when he had his little ‘Episode’, Twilight?”

“That was an isolated incident.”

“Really? Cause it sure spooked the town for a while. A new water tower, several buildings, a few injuries too.”

“Stop it. Leave Spike out of this. This isn’t about him.” Twilight said with a glare of annoyance.

“Did Celestia speak to you about this? Did she tell you what would happen if it happened again?”

“It. Won’t.”

“He is a Dragon after all, how long will it be before he too, has another ‘bad day?’ What’s the difference between your Spike and my Aeron?”

“Trixie. STOP.” Twilight shouted, her temper starting to fray.

“Would they send him to live with the Dragons? I hope not. He’s just a baby after all. Or maybe they decide to put him in Tartarus too.”

“THEY AREN’T GOING TO TAKE HIM! NO PONY IS!!!!”

“If you let it happen to Aeron then it will happen to Spike eventually too!”

“No it won’t! It’s not the same!”

“Hypocrite!”

“Enough.” Twilight yelled, her eyes sparking with electricity. “I’ve had just about enough of you and your illusions. It’s time to end this duel.”

Her horn erupted with a fiery light. Surprisingly, so did her mane and tail.

“Princess Celestia told me of this spell once. It’s a spell she used long ago to defend Equestria from horrible monsters. It took me a long time to figure it out, as I had to reconstruct the spell from rumor and secondhand accounts. I was going to show it to her later and surprise her, but It will be more than enough to finish off your illusions.” The flaming glow became even brighter, stoked by Twilights unleashed temper. “Solaris Lance!”

“Twilight, NO!” Celestia shouted, but it was too late.

****

Hearing Celestia’s shout of ‘NO’, told me this was bad news. Watching that flaming spear of death erupt from Twilight's horn made up my mind. I erected a thick wall of rock and soil in front of Trixie, split seconds before that spell impacted. The explosion that followed was blinding. The heat was enough to give everyone a light case of sunburn. And when the dust settled the devastation was…. Well….

Both remaining illusions had been obliterated. The front of the barrier had been scorched completely black, having carbonized the soil. Some of the stone ran molten, like lava. The grass below the spells trajectory was on fire. And Twilight… Twilight looked utterly horrified, tears leaking from her eyes.

Mercifully, the barrier held, and Trixie appeared unscathed. She sank down to sit in the grass, and I rushed to her side.

“Are you okay? Speak to me.”

“Remind Trixie not to pick fights with Twilight in the future.” she said shakily.

I hugged her. “Noted, but all the same, you were great.”

“I lost.” she said with a shudder.

“Yeah, but that’s my fault, not yours.”

Soarin hesitantly addressed the crowd. “Uhm… in light of that last spell, and uh...with interference from outside, the winner of this duel is, Twilight Sparkle.”

He then turned to us and gave us an apologetic shrug. The guy looked about as guilty as if he had been caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. But it was nothing compared to the guilt on Twilight’s face. She came rushing over and pretty much bombarded us with apologies.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean it. When you kept talking about Spike… I lost my temper and I just.. acted. I didn’t think…. Please you have to believe me. I’m so sorry.” she blurted at us with a speed even Pinkie would find hard to match.

If her words weren’t enough to convince us, her tears certainly were. She looked like a kicked puppy.

“Twilight, its okay. We believe you.” Trixie said, and I nodded. She looked so incredibly relieved, it was almost heartbreaking.

“You might want to back away though.” I said and motioned behind her.

Celestia and a large contingent of unicorn guards approached us.

“The duel is over. It’s time to wrap this up.” she said coolly, her eyes dispassionate. “Trixie Lulamoon, In accordance with the terms set at the start of this duel, I hereby strip you of your noble status. All claims and rights granted by said status are hereby forfeit.”

“Trixie doesn't care about that. She never has.” Trixie said defiantly. Celestia just kept staring at her levely.

“As for you Aeron, you will be placed in Tartarus until such time I deem you fit for release. You are to be transported there immediately.”

The unicorns all lowered their horns at me.

“Princess Celestia, Is this really necessary?” Twilight asked pleadingly.

“Sister, perhaps we could instead lock him in the dungeons, as before. Surely something as drastic as Tartarus is too much.” Luna interjected.

“I am not taking any chances this time. He was proven that the dungeons can’t hold him. It would be no better than putting him in one of the suites and telling him not to leave the room. No, he will be locked in Tartarus, and that is final.”

“I’m sorry.” I said calmly. “But that’s not going to happen. Not now, not ever.”

Celestia’s face turned into an angry scowl, her horn erupting with magic. But Trixie was faster.

“Mic drop, we out!” she shouted.

That was the code phrase we had linked to the runes in her hat. It had taken a small fortune in gemstones to buy the enchanted mageweave thread she used to embroider them. But this particular runic array needed to be as powerful as possible to break through any potential counters or barriers. Her wizards hat erupted with light, enlarging in a split second as a portal formed inside it. Before anypony knew what was going on, I snatched Trixie off the ground and jumped into it. The second we were through the hat folded in on itself and disappeared in a puff of smoke and colorful sparkles.

Everypony was left staring at the empty spot.

***

How to describe portal based teleportation. It’s like being on a high speed roller coaster, going through a tunnel of seizure inducing lights. That’s about as close as I can explain the experience. I don’t know if it feels different with regular unicorn teleportation. Anyways, that's what we were going through when all of a sudden we slammed into a solid barrier, and the portal spell unceremoniously dumped us back into the material world.

The two of us re-appeared at the edge of the city, a foot or so outside a shimmering dome of force. The sudden re-materialisation left us both dazed.

“OW! What the buck hit Trixie?” She yelled as she rubbed her head with a hoof.

“They locked down the city. How the hell did they raise a barrier this fast?” I said as I slammed a fist into the dome. The impact rang like a gong but had no noticeable effect on the shield at all. It just made me feel even more disoriented.

“We need to move, if we stay here they will find us in no time. Has your invisibility spell recharged yet?”

Trixie checked her cape and hat. ”Just about.”

“Good, then we’re ditching all but the essentials and go underground.” I said as I tore open a drain cover.

Canterlot for all its modern shine and luxury is an old city of medieval architecture and design. Unlike modern cities, it still uses large sewer tunnels and storm drains, big enough for a pony to walk through.

“No doubt the guard is already scrambling to find us. I will try to grow a decoy to draw them in the other direction.”

“No time, just use your current body, Trixie will carry you.”

That would do. I gave her a nod of approval, then opened up my chest. I first created a bellsprout, then reached out to Trixie with a few vines from my core. The second I detached from my shell she carefully lifted me up, and placed me inside her mane where I grabbed hold of her hair with a few carefully placed vines. Hanging there like a cheerful, if bizarre hair ornament. The bellsprout I created took my place inside the body shell. With a shudder it came back to life and galloped off towards the heart of the city to cause a distraction.

Placing her hat on her head, Trixie activated the invisibility array, and the two of us vanished from sight. A few seconds later the drain cover seemingly closed on its own, and no trace of us having been there remained.

******

“GONE?! What do you mean gone?” Celestia shouted at the messenger, a hapless pegasus guard who stood shaking in his horseshoes.

It had been barely half an hour since Aeron and Trixie escaped her grasp at the training field. More than enough time for the guard to snatch them up and bring them to her.

“Apologies your highness. We looked exactly where you said there was an impact on the shield, but found nothing. They must be long gone by now.”

“No, they are still inside the city. The force dome around it is impenetrable, they are still here somewhere.”

A second messenger flew into the throne room.

“Highness, we found what looked to be the one of the escapees in the downtown market, but it turned out to be a decoy. One of those blasted little spider plants was controlling a lookalike like a puppet.”

Celestia’s gaze turned icy. “Find them! Find them now!” Celestia fumed, before turning away.

The guards stood stock still a moment, before filing out. Save for one private in the back, who was trembling so bad his Sergeant had to briskly walk him out. The look on the poor colt’s face cut Twilight deeply.

“I’ve never seen princess Celestia this angry.” Twilight mumbled, mostly to herself, but the other girls heard her anyway.

“Well what did you expect?” Said Rainbow Dash, “They made her look like a fool in front of all the nobles when they turned chicken and fled. Goes to show you, you can’t trust them.”

“You’re holding true to your element, Miss Dash.” Prince Blueblood spoke softly, his eyes following his aunt as she returned to her throne. His gaze remained in quiet contemplation before he realize he was being rude.

“Ah, forgive me.” He said with a tither. “The hour is late, ladies and drake, I take it you all will be staying in Canterlot for the night?”

Twilight turned to face the Prince, suddenly realizing they had no plans for accommodations.

“Oh! Uhm, Yes. I suppose we will be. What do you say girls? Sleepover at my old place?”
The usual thought of spending the night together seemed hollow now, even Pinkie couldn’t muster the enthusiasm.

“Good.” Blue Blood adjusted his collar with a hoof.

“Should you all need anything,” he finally turned away from the form of Celestia, “perhaps you would feel better contacting me first?”

“Thank you, prince Blueblood, we will.” Twilight bowed, which was echoed by her troop of friends.

“Then I wish you all good night.” He too bowed as he made his way from the chambers, closing the door behind him.

Wordless the Elements too began filing out.

Spike, having had enough of the silence, broke it “Ok, I am just going to say it: I say we make an Ice cream run.”

If anypony had an objection, they didn’t vocalize it.

******

The search was ongoing, but with the sun setting, Luna had to retreat to her chambers and prepare to get to work. The dream realm wasn’t going to guard itself, and the upheaval in the city was bound to lead to a few restless dreams.

She walked up to the balcony and watched the sun dip towards the horizon. It was looking especially red tonight, a side effect of her sisters anger no doubt. Or maybe it was the energy shield enveloping all of Canterlot that was causing the discoloration. With a sigh Luna channeled her magic into her horn and reached out beyond the horizon. Touching the moon with her magic always felt like stepping bare hooved onto fresh snow. But the cold sensation didn’t bother her in the slightest. It felt welcoming and familiar. Despite the hardship of her thousand year imprisonment, she felt closer to her moon than ever.

Where she had once struggled to lift it, wrestling to move it according to the path she desired, it now responded to the slightest nudge of her will. Gracefully rising over the horizon to take its proud place in the night sky. Another pulse of her magic, and the stars appeared in ones and twos, and then by the dozen. Creating a dazzling tapestry.

Satisfied with her work, Luna stepped down from the balcony and re-entered her chambers. She walked over to her dresser and with a pulse of magic, undid the clasp that held together the torc of her regalia. Just as she set the bejeweled ring down, something brushed against her senses.

In one fluent move she spun around, summoning Eclipse to her side.

“Whoever thou art intruder, ‘tis useless to try and hide. We know thee to be there.”

“Peace, Luna. We’ve come to parlay.”

With a shimmer, the invisibility spell dropped, and Trixie and Aeron appeared.

“How did you enter our chambers undetected, and why should I not just disable the both of you and lock you in the dungeons?”

Trixie stepped forward and bowed low. Aeron kept a wary eye on the blade at her side, but he too bend the knee to her.

“Princess Luna,” Trixie spoke up, “I know you have very little reason to trust us after what happened earlier, but for the sake of everypony in Canterlot I beg you to hear us out.”

Luna stared at the pair of them intensely, her mind torn with indecision.

“Why? Luna thought, Why would they run only to risk being captured the second they revealed themselves to her? It did not make sense. None of it did. In fact, now that she thought about it, nothing had made any sense for weeks now. Her sisters deteriorating mood and self restraint. Her niece Cadance growing distant, despite the upcoming festivities for her wedding. The shadow of her other self constantly appearing in unexpected places, before vanishing. The mysterious threat they had received, aimed at the city of Canterlot. And then the sudden return of these two. She was sure there was some kind of connection to all of it. But she had no idea what. She needed answers. ANY answers.

Finally she let out a sigh and released her hold on Eclipse. The magical blade vanished back to its resting place. She sat down heavily, motioning for them to do the same.

“You said before that we needed to talk, Aeron. So talk. Tell me everything, and leave out no details.”